7 

15^2-1 


Please  remember  tbe  rule  of 


SILENCE 


The  JAMES  BLACKSTONE 

* MEMORIAL  LIBRARY, 


[ The  following  has  been  prepared  in  answer  to 
questions  that  are  often  asked .] 

The  building  was  erected  and  the  endowment 
provided  in  memory  of  James  Blackstone  by 
i his  youngest  son,  Timothy  B.  Blackstone.  The 
former  was  born  in  Branford  in  l 393,  made 
Branford  his  home,  and  died  in  Branford  in  1886. 
The  latter  was  born  in  Branford  in  1829,  was 
best  known  through  his  long  and  able  presidency 
of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  railroad  company,  and 
died  in  Chicago  May  26,  1900.  The  old  home 
is  about  two  miles  east  of  the  center,  a little 
west  of  the  place  where  the  Pine  Orchard  road 
crosses  the  railroad.  Five  generations  of  the 
family  lived  and  died  upon  the  farm. 

The  act  of  incorporation  of  the  Library  Asso- 
ciation was  approved  March  23,  1893.  The 


BRANFORD,  CONN 


foundations  of  the  building  were  laid  in  the 
autumn  of  that  year.  The  public  exercises  of 
dedication  were  held  in  the  building  June  l 
1896,  and  the  building  was  thereafter  open 
for  use. 

The  marble  came  from  East  Tennessee;  some 
of  it  has  the  especial  excellence  of  brightening 
under  rain.  The  outside  dimensions  of  the 
building  are  162  by  129  feet.  The  dome  is 
marble,  eight  inches  thick,  with  copper  sheath- 
ing; the  height  of  the  dome  from  the  floor  is 
fifty  feet.  The  building  is  fireproof  throughout. 
The  basement  affords  room  for  future  develop-, 
ment.  The  architect  was  S.  S.  Beman,  of 
Chicago;  the  architecture  is  Ionic,  the  details 
being  taken  from  the  Erechtheion  at  Athens. 


The  painter  of  the  pictures  in  the  dome  (rep- 
resenting the  history  of  bookmaking)  and  of  the 
medallion-portraits  of  American  authors  (Bryant, 
Emerson,  Hawthorne,  Longfellow, Whittier,  Holmes, 
Lowell,  and  Mrs.  Stowe)  was  Oliver  D.  Grover,  of 
Chicago. 

The  portraits  of  James  Blackstone  and  of  Timothy 
B.  Blackstone  were  painted  by  J.  Colin  Forbes,  of 
Toronto.  The  bust  of  Timothy  B.  Blackstone  was 
made  by  Mr.  Grover ; this  was  a gift  from  William 
N.  Blackstone,  of  Norwich. 

The  building  is  open,  except  Sundays,  from 
8.30  A.  M.  to  9 P.  M. 

The  library  on  the  opening-day  consisted  of 
about  6,450  volumes.  The  additions  in  the  past 


1 


I 


twelve  months  have  been  1,360,  of  which  126 
were  gifts;  the  net  total  is  now  about  25,000, 
but  quality  is  sought  rather  than  numbers.  Addi- 
tions are  recorded  in  a bulletin  issued  every 
May ; all  the  books  are  covered  by  the  various 
catalogues. 

The  issue  of  books  in  the  first  twelve  months 
was  23,240;  in  the  last  twelve  months  64,927; 
from  the  beginning  583,556. 

A branch  was  opened  in  Stony  Creek  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1 900  ; the  issue  there  from  the  beginning 
has  been  58,283. 

Especial  care  is  given  to  making  the  library 
helpful  to  the  schools ; deposit-stations  have  been 
maintained  since  January,  1903,  at  the  Paved 
Street  school  and  the  Damascus  school,  with 
growing  usefulness. 

The  number  of  cardholders  is  now  2,222.  Tem- 
porary residents  can  have  cards  by  making  a 
deposit  of  $3.00. 

Over  a hundred  periodicals  are  taken  for  the 
main  reading-room,  and  seventeen  for  the  branch. 
Most  of  these  are  in  due  time  bound  and  placed 
upon  the  shelves.  Lecture-courses  are  carried  on 
in  the  winter,  with  occasional  concerts. 

The  administration  is  in  the  hands  of  six 
citizens  of  Branford  and,  ex  officio,  the  Librarian 
of  Yale  University.  The  expenses  are  met  by 
an  endowment,  and  not  at  all  by  taxation. 

The  visitor  will  do  well  to  notice  especially : 
the  excellence  of  the  location ; 


the  breadth  of  the  front  steps  ; 
the  columns,  the  tablet,  and  the  lanterns  in 
the  portico ; 

the  attic  story  over  the  portico; 
the  bronze  front  doors,  weighing  nearly  2,000 
pounds ; 

the  mosaic  floors,  especially  that  of  the  rotunda ; 
the  wainscoting,  both  marble  and  oak ; 
the  fixtures  for  electric  light ; 
the  columns  inside  the  building,  marble  or 
scagliola ; 

the  egg-and-dart  molding  in  many  places; 
the  book-stacks  and  other  shelves,  and  the 
room  for  extension  in  this  respect; 
the  displays  for  children  in  the  catalogue-room  ; 
the  reading-room  and  reference-rooms; 
the  art-books  on  the  tables  in  the  rotunda  ; 
the  color  and  polish  of  the  marble  in  the 
back  hall; 

the  lecture-hall  (capacity  350),  with  special 
entrance  from  outside; 
the  staircase,  unsupported  on  the  inner  side ; 
the  view  of  the  dome  from  the  upper  corridor 
of  the  rotunda:  the  11  history  of  book- 

making’'  is  seen  at  best  advantage  from 
this  corridor;  it  cannot  be  seen  well  from 
the  lower  floor; 

the  art-rooms  and  their  contents; 
the  views  from  the  windows. 

Those  having  leisure  to  read  about  the  build- 
ing can  borrow  material  at  the  counter. 


September  1 , 1909. 


